Employer Support for Innovative Work and Employees' Job Satisfaction and Job‐related Stress: Milosh RAYKOV. Faculty of Education, University of Malta, Malta—Objectives: There are high levels of global and national underemployment, but limited information is available on the impact of this phenomenon on the quality of employees' working lives. This study examines the relations among perceived employer support for creative work, different forms of underemployment and employee quality of life, including job satisfaction, perceived job security and job satisfaction.Methods: The study was performed using cross‐sectional data from the Canadian 2010 Work and Lifelong Learning Survey (WALL), which included 1,042 randomly selected currently employed participants between the ages of 18 and 64 years of age.Results: The study found a significant inverse association between employer support for innovative work and different forms of underemployment. It also suggested a strong relationship between support for such work and participation in work‐related informal learning. The results from this study confirmed the hypothesis that employer support for creative work is significantly associated with the quality of employees' working lives, as manifested through increased job security and job satisfaction. Employees experiencing greater support for workplace creativity report less job‐related stress. The present study identified relatively low employer support for creative work and significant differences in the perception of support among managers and workers.Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that employer support for innovative work can mitigate significant underutilization of employee knowledge and skills. Such support can contribute to the reduction of job‐related stress, increased job satisfaction and perceived job security. This kind of support can also improve the quality of life of employees and facilitate creativity and overall organizational and social development.

School climate is a topic of increasing importance internationally. The current study investigated the established measurement invariance of an eight-factor school climate scale using a multinational sample of secondary students. School climate factor means across 14 international groups were compared and findings on the association between school climate factors and mental health were also investigated. Findings, from this study, illustrate several cross-national similarities regarding the ways in which secondary students perceive school climate and the influence of school climate on student mental health. These findings can support school psychologists' efforts to identify strategies and supports that improve the school environment in areas that are most consistently related to student experiences, such as school safety and school connectedness. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

This paper provides a view of the experiences of former high school apprentices in Canada. Conceptually, we draw on the work of Bourdieu with particular attention to vocational habitus, as well as feminist writers who discuss the gendered construction of skill and gender relations in the workplace and family. Empirically, we present our analysis of survey data from 173 male and female apprentices in two provinces and interviews with female apprentices in Alberta. Our data provide insights into youths’ school experiences as well as their subsequent trajectories and plans for the future. Findings suggest that female youth relied more than young men on the support of families and external influences in choosing a trade. Young women in female-dominated trades faced different but no less significant challenges than those in male-dominated trades. Women who succeeded in completing apprenticeship training did so because of their family habitus and expansive training experiences.

A deep approach to learning is essential for student academic achievement and several studies demonstrate a significant association between such an approach to learning and student academic performance. However, findings from some empirical studies in this domain are inconsistent and the main objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of application of the Biggs (2001) Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) for the diagnosis and monitoring of teacherstudent approaches to learning. Also, the aim of this study was to examine the association of the different approaches to learning with student reading habits and literacy skills. The sample included 202 undergraduate teacher education students. The study found that both, male and female students at the year of study have similar deep and surface approaches to learning. This initial evaluation of the R-SPQ-2F indicates that the questionnaire has acceptable internal consistency and is a promising short instrument for the diagnosis of student teachers′ deep and surface approaches to learning. Results are discussed with reference to a procedure that combines qualitative and quantitative data to increase the diagnostic validity of student learning approaches. Based on the findings of this study, it seems that the R-SPQ-2F scale can be used as a reliable instrument that can help educators diagnose and encourage the development of student teacher approaches to learning, that is a significant contributing factor to their academic performance and teaching practice.

This article documents macro-level trends regarding gender equity for women managers in paid workplaces and examines the importance of factors related to equitable promotion. Primary evidence is drawn from 1982, 2004 and 2010 surveys of work and learning activities of the employed Canadian labor force. These surveys provide unique national-level data on the managerial levels, qualifications, sex of supervisor and divisions of paid and unpaid labor among male and female managers which could provide benchmarks for further international surveys. Women’s representation in top-level jobs remains very restricted, and most women still manage only women. Greater employment experience and higher educational qualifications are now generally significant factors for promotion of women as well as men. But glass ceilings maintained by men and women’s own primary responsibility for household work remain the major obstacles to equitable promotion. Women managers’ increasing economic power remains contingent on facing up to these interrelated barriers.

Background: Despite increased access to higher education in recent decades, first-generation (first-gen) university students continue to face challenges with persistence and completion. Recommended responses by universities include exposing these students to “high-impact” educational practices. Purpose: This article examines the potential of one of these practices—service-learning—to address the disadvantages faced by first-gen students. Methodology/Approach: We review the literature on first-gen students and service-learning and offer a conceptual critique of dominant approaches. Findings/Conclusions: Dominant conceptions of service-learning treat first-gen students as a homogeneous, deficient group and reduce learning to an input-environment-output model. We argue for a more conceptually nuanced understanding of the reasons for the cultural mismatch often experienced by underrepresented groups of students. Implications: The conceptual resources offered in this article are intended to help researchers and policy makers undertake research that captures the diversity and richness of students’ lives and leads to more equitable practices.